Beat and a Pulse
by sKyLaR KnIgHt
Summary: Things become a little difficult for Ichigo & Co when the lonely soul Hinata constantly haunts the grounds of an active hospital. The problem is that as much as she'd like to move on, she literally can't. Things only get harder for them when you throw an overprotective older cousin in the mix. IchiHina.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I haven't read any Bleach/Naruto fanfictions as of late, so I don't know if there is anyone who even likes the idea of Ichigo/Hinata, but here it is anyway.

I also haven't seen Bleach in a couple of years, so I'm not sure whether this situation is plausible, but who cares, its fanfiction!

Also, this takes place after Ichigo and co. return from the Soul Society when they saved Rukia.

Please read and enjoi!

0—Beat and a Pulse/One—0

Ichigo took one look at his friend and felt all the tension that had built up during the day fall away once he noticed that the brunet was perfectly fine. It seems the fuss everyone was making at school was for naught. The carrot top made his way over to the window before he tossed the bedridden idiot the snacks he bought from a nearby convenience store. "Moron. How did you manage to break an arm and a leg?"

Keigo snatched the snacks up with his free hand and tore into them with the help of his teeth. He ate some of the contents before he managed to lift his head and brandish his usual grin. "Man, Ichigo, you're a lifesaver! Hospital food is the worst!"

The soul reaper allowed his friend to savor his snacks in silence for a couple of moments before pressing the matter. He frowned when he noticed that his friend was zoning out mid-bite, and made his way over to the bedside. "What did they give you for the pain?" He asked, his shoulders unconsciously straightening as he took on the 'doctor voice' he managed to inherit from his father.

"Uhhmm…" Keigo's eyes rolled over to the foot of the bed, a look of bewilderment finding its way to his face. "Isn't it there on my chart?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and rounded the bed, plucking the chart off of the panel. As he scanned the listed drug and the amount of damage to Keigo's body, the young man in question sat up and stared out the window with a hint of wistfulness. "So how did you manage to break all those bones at once?"

The brunet tore his gaze away from the window and those brown eyes flicked over to him. "I was trying to impress this girl. I was showing her this new dance that I learned, and didn't notice how close I was getting to the stairs. I fell, and broke my leg. When I tried to stand up, I fell again, but that time it was on my arm. It's okay though, I managed to get her number. She came with me to the hospital and everything." He stated with a wry grin, jerking his head toward his leg where there was in fact, a phone number and 'call me 3' written in girly script.

Ichigo sighed heavily and shook his head as he returned the chart to its previous position. "Only you would see that as an accomplishment, Keigo."

He crossed over the room and stared out the window, his eyes fixed on the setting sun.

_**Clang… Clang… Clang…**_

The soul reaper frowned. _That sounds like a soul dragging its chain around._ He thought. It wasn't exactly odd to see souls near hospitals, but surprisingly, he hadn't seen any on his way in. Ichigo scanned the perimeter of the hospital before he gradually scanned closer areas, pausing when he caught sight of a glint from the chain. His eyes swiftly followed the length of it, and finally settled on the owner.

She was small; taller than Rukia (who wasn't?) and had long flowing locks of indigo which scattered at different directions due to the chaotic wind that Karakura has been experiencing as of late. Her back was to him, for she was facing the sunset as well, perched high on a cable line that extended from a nearby pole to the hospital. She was just sitting there, no sign of violence.

_Hopefully this will be fast._ He thought as he reached for the badge the Soul Society had given him. He glanced back at his friend and smiled softly when he realized that the hyperactive teen had fallen asleep due to his meds. Ichigo strode over and sat in a nearby chair. He made sure that his body was situated properly before pulling the badge out of his pocket, his soul form released from its natural host as soon as it made contact with the gift.

"Much better." Ichigo groaned as he stretched, as if he had been disconnected from the muscles he only used when in soul form. "Time to go to work." He hefted Zangetsu over his shoulders and swiftly leapt out of the window, making his way over to the girl in less than a second.

"Hey there." Ichigo managed his softest tone, not wanting to scare the soul and unintentionally send her into a chaotic attempt of self-preservation and end up changing into a Hollow. It _has _happened before.

"Hello." Her voice was soft and lilting without a hint of panic. Her head remained forward, but from up close, he could determine her age to be somewhere around that of his own.

_Shit. It's awkward without having Rukia around to deal with the talking._ Ichigo scowled momentarily before smoothing his features out. Who knew when the girl would turn around? He couldn't go scaring her… "Well… Err… Do you know that you are dead?" He cringes immediately and wants to smash his head into a fucking wall. Tact was clearly _not_ his forte.

"I am. At the moment." She responded slowly, her hand came up and rested lightly on the chain that protruded from her chest. "Not much time left." She murmured to herself.

Ichigo's eyes followed the length of the chain and realized that it went all the way back to the hospital. _Ah. She's attached to the hospital, just like that other guy._ He turned back towards the female. "Why don't you want to move on? I realize that this hospital must be special to you, but if you remain in the human world for much longer... You'll turn into a mindless creature that preys on the souls of those who cannot defend themselves."

"To move on." The female lowered her head, and Ichigo's spine immediately snapped into a straight line, realizing that she was going to cry. "I wish that it was possible."

"H-Hey, don't cry. That's why I'm here." Ichigo slowly edged into her line of vision and awkwardly rocked back on his heels. "I'm a soul reaper. All I've got to do is stamp you with Zangetsu and you'll be free to move on to the soul society. You won't feel hunger or fear. You wouldn't be alone either."

"You are very kind." The female raised her head to flash the soul reaper a watery smile, and it took all Ichigo had in him to refrain from gasping aloud at the sight of her ivory—well more like lavender—eyes. He certainly wasn't expecting such an exotic sight on an unassuming soul such as her.

"Well, I'm just doing my—." Ichigo cut himself off as he gazed at the spot before him where the soul had sat. He blinked a couple of times to ensure that his vision was in working order; it didn't help. The soul… She was gone.

She had flashed in and out of focus for a moment or two before she simply disappeared out of sight.

It took a couple of moments for Ichigo to regain enough sense to close his slackened jaw. "Uh… That's not normal."

0—One/End—0

A/N: If anyone likes this story, I'll continue. If I do, there will only be about five or six chapters, but they'd be much longer than this.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's the next one!

Thanx to: **Zanka no Tachi 31, Arrankor, Haru Hime-sama, tastetherainbow17, Adri-Swan, Apocalypse owner, TwiliFay, rhydumgirl1899, CurrentlyIncognito, JadedGothButterfly, **and **the guests** for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto.

0—Beat and a Pulse/Two—0

Ichigo had scoured the hospital without any luck; the soul was simply impossible to locate. He understood that souls could reappear wherever they wanted to, but if they were tied down to a certain structure, they shouldn't be able to completely vanish from the grounds! He sighed heavily as he strode out of the basement and started to make his way back to Keigo's room so he could realign his soul with his body.

_I'll probably have to call Rukia up to see what's going on with this soul…_Ichigo scowled at the thought of going to his former teacher-of-sorts; he could already imagine the smug grin on her face as she recited something that was probably elementary for the "real" soul reapers. _Great, something else that midget can lord over me until I save her ass again._

Just as he turned the corner, he caught sight of a small amount of people gathering around one of the private rooms on Keigo's floor. _Someone is probably going to pass soon._ Ichigo thought, pausing in his steps, unsure as to what the procedure was in such a case. _Should I just wait—no._ Ichigo dismissed the thought from his head almost immediately. _That's pretty disrespectful, not to mention that the soul would probably be scared half to death if he or she caught sight of me waiting for them with my sword without having the time to get used to being dead._ He started off in the direction of his room again, only to stop once more and turn back towards the room. _It wouldn't hurt to see the face of the soul that I'll be sending off, though. This way I can be prepared on how to handle the situation. I hope it's an older person. They are usually more accepting._

Just as he started to approach the small mass of people, Ichigo had an eerie sensation of being watched. He paused, swiveled his head from side to side then shrugged when he failed to see another soul lingering about the halls. He moved forward towards the private room once again.

"Hey, you!"

The soul reaper ignored the shout, knowing full and well that the person wasn't talking to him—it had taken him a long time to learn to ignore conversations between the living while he was in this form.

"Shinigami!"

Ichigo grounded to a halt. He glanced over his shoulder once more, taking the time to pay attention to the humans who were spread out amongst themselves. His eyes narrowed as they honed in on a long haired male who appeared to be a couple of years older than himself. The stranger held himself arrogantly, and—Ichigo's eyes widened as he caught sight of a familiar set of ivory hues. They weren't nearly as lovely as those that belonged to the soul from before, but they were a close match. In fact, the family resemblance was strong between this guy and the—.

"You can see me?" Ichigo interrupted himself.

"Yes." The stranger's face was tight and a miniscule frown stretched across his lips. "You will step away from that door right now."

Ichigo's brows furrowed and glanced back at the private room, stilling when he noticed that a few of the family members on the outer edge were watching—each of them having the same eyes and features of that of the stranger and the soul from before. "Wait, another one of you is going to—."

"She is not dead. Step away from the door, Shinigami, last warning." The voice was closer, and when Ichigo turned back to face the young man, he blinked as he realized that he was several feet closer, his hands stiff at his side.

"Calm down, man. I can't stamp humans with the soul stamp. I wasn't intending on using it on someone who is still—."

"Hinata-sama will not be dying anytime soon!" The male exclaimed.

Ichigo felt his brows furrow, and it took all that he had in him to keep from screaming back at the brunet. His usual attitude wouldn't work well in such a situation; he sure as hell could see that. "Okay man, my mistake." He made a show of placing Zangetsu back on his back and moving his hands away from the hilt.

"Neji."

Ichigo glanced over his shoulder, pausing when he noticed that the family members who were previously blocking the doorway had moved aside, and in their place stood a tall, regal man with a painfully blank face. The soul reaper was immediately reminded of Byakuya and scowled. _Another one of these clan oriented guys? Kami, help keep my patience in check._

"Hinata is asking for you."

Ichigo glanced back at the stranger who was apparently named "Neji" and watched with fascination as the coldness in his gaze seemed to melt just a bit as he stepped towards the room.

Neji paused when he reached Ichigo's side and cast him a cutting gaze. "If I see you lingering around Hinata-sama's room again, I will end you, soul reaper."

Ichigo nearly responded with a snort, but managed to reign in his retort at the last moment. He did, however, keep his eyes trained on the young man as he entered the room, and just before the door was closed, he caught a glimpse of indigo hair splayed out across the white hospital sheets.

The soul reaper froze.

It was the soul from before, only she wasn't in her soul form. Her soul was firmly set in her body, which appeared to be more frail than the glimpse Ichigo had of her from before.

She had been there the whole time.

"I suggest that you continue your route, Shinigami." The voice of the Byakuya-like man rumbled low. Cold ivory eyes that were whiter than anything Ichigo's ever seen were fixated on his sword for a brief moment before flicking down to meet the brown eyes of its host. "Should you appear before us again before her time, I will be forced to take action."

"Uh… Yeah…" Ichigo slowly backed up, his mind whirling as it frantically searched for some semblance of an explanation for what had just happened.

_The whole family was able to see me._ He thought as he strode back to Keigo's room with renewed gusto. _Now _that_ is definitely not normal._

0—Break—0

It took a while for Ichigo to convince Keigo that he wasn't dead once he was able to reclaim his body. It seemed that the young Asano had been trying for quite some time to wake the orange haired teen up; even resorting to throwing his water cup… which still had water in it.

"KEIGO!" Ichigo shouted as he was doused with cold water just as he regained control of his body. "Don't think that you being in the hospital will keep me from kicking your ass if you even think of doing that again!"

The brunet's uninjured hand shot up in its customary defensive position. "Whoa, man! You were really out of it! I was starting to think that you croaked! What else was I supposed to do?"

Ichigo climbed to his feet and made his way over to the sink, yanking some of the paper towels out of the storage above the mirror. "Pretty much anything but that, you little weasel." He muttered without venom. He wiped at his pants and shirt half heartedly, knowing full and well that it wouldn't do much to help him in this situation; the water had already soaked through.

"Sorry Ichigo." Keigo looked down for a moment before a wide grin spread across his face. "Hey, so that girl said that she'd come and visit me again tomorrow after school!"

"Yeah?" The soul reaper responded, tossing the used paper towels in the bin.

"Yup! So if you could, please tell everyone to avoid coming to visit around three. I'd like some alone time with her to… you know," Keigo's brows waggled, "work my magic."

Ichigo shook his head with a small smirk on his lips as he gazed down at his friend. "You're hopeless." He knew full and well that if he told anyone from their group of friends not to come down at that specific time, _everyone _would be showing up at that time to disrupt whatever Keigo had going on.

"What do you mean hopeless? I'm good enough with the chicks!"

"Sure, you're a regular Casanova, Keigo." Ichigo crossed the room and picked up his satchel before tossing it over his shoulder. "I've gotta head out, bud."

"Where are you going?" The brunet pouted from his spot on the bed, curling himself up as much as he could so that he appeared pathetic enough for pity.

The orange haired teen snorted at the look as he strode over to the door. "I've got to meet up with Rukia to ask her a few things about… school."

"A-HA~!" If Keigo's leg hadn't been broken, he'd have leapt to his feet with the fierce exclamation. "I knew that you guys had something going on! There's no way that you would be able to resist such a cute girl for so long. Man, go Ichigo~!"

"Shut up." Ichigo frowned. "I'd never go for someone as stubborn as that brat! Besides, she's too old for me." The words slipped out before he could think on them, if the gleam in the brunet's eye was anything to go by.

"Ah, so you're the type of guy to care about stuff like that. I'd never guess. Man, this is so great! I've always wondered what type of women you would go for. Poor Rukia-chan… So, you like them young~!"

"Don't say it like that you perv!" Ichigo growled, barely managing to refrain from crossing over the room and ramming his fist into the knucklehead's face. "And no, it doesn't bother me that much!"

"Me thinks the man doth protest too much~!"

He rolled his eyes and slid the door open. "Whatever. See ya later, Keigo."

"Later, dude!"

0—Break—0

Ichigo made his way over to the apartment that Byakuya had insisted on buying for Rukia*, not even bothering to knock before he jerked the door open.

Rukia paused mid-bite, half of the noodles hanging out of her mouth while her large eyes swiveled to her front door.

The orange haired soul reaper smirked at the short female as he dropped his satchel to the ground and toed off his shoes. "That's a good look for you."

Cheeks flaming, Rukia hastily slurped up what was in her mouth before resolutely placing her minute ramen on the table, her chopsticks neatly resting on top. "Erm. What is it, Ichigo?" She didn't feel the need to berate the young man, knowing that he wouldn't really be seeking her out if it weren't about their job.

Ichigo sank down to the ground with a heavy sigh. "You heard how Keigo's in the hospital, ne?"

"Yes." Rukia responded immediately, her back unconsciously straightening into her 'business-mode'. "I heard he sustained substantial injuries to an arm and a leg."

"Yeah. He's okay and all, but when I was there, I could hear the clanging of a soul chain. I used the soul badge and went to investigate, and I found this soul. Her chain looked as if it was connected to the hospital, but before I could stamp her with the hilt of my Zangetsu, she disappeared." Ichigo paused. "Later on after I had looked around for while, I was heading back to my body, and get this, she was in her body again. I mean, I know it isn't impossible since the same thing happened to Inoue before, but the thing is, all of the members of her family could see me."

Rukia, who had been sitting idly, suddenly squawked in surprise, her large eyes immediately flicking over to him. "You said everyone could see you?!"

_She seems to know something…_ "Yeah." He nodded.

"These family members… Did they happen to give you their family name?"

"No. But they did have a unique appearance. All of them had eyes in various shades of white. I thought that it was kind of weird at the time, but…"

"Do not ever approach that family again, Ichigo." Rukia's voice was hard when she spoke, her eyes beseeching the teen to obey.

"Why?" Ichigo breathed. "Who are they?"

Rukia paused, as if deliberating on what she could and could not tell the teen. "Most information on them is classified and is only privy to captains and their lieutenants, but every soul reaper is given the name of the one clan that we are not to approach."

"And that is?"

"The noble clan of Hyuuga."

0—Break—0

"How are you faring, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked quietly once his cousin woke up for the nurse to check up on her.

The face that was once so full of life and that was always showing a bright smile was gone. The Hyuuga heiress' face was sunken ever so slightly, her eyes never shining as they used to and her hair, which was once full and luscious, was limply splayed upon the sheets. "As f-fine as one can expect with…" She paused to catch her breath. "…a condition such as m-mine." Her hand slowly drifted up to her chest, resting just over her heart.

The brunet frowned down at the wistful expression on his cousin's face, knowing full and well what she was wishing for—what she longed for. _Stop thinking like that._ He scolded himself. _She _will_ get better._ His hand gently pulled her hand away and held it firmly in his own. "You're going to get better, Hinata-sama. I'll make sure of it."

"A-Arigatou, Neji-niisan." Hinata turned her head away from the prying eyes of her cousin. She didn't wish for him to see the tears that leaked freely from her parted lashes.

She knew that it was a lie.

0—Two/End—0

A/N: Thanx for reading! Next chapter should be longer!


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